


Last thoughts

by Gwenore



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Body Horror, F/M, Parasites, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:42:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8847253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenore/pseuds/Gwenore
Summary: Synopsis: The exploratory ship known as Storybrooke, lead by Captain David Nolan has gone to investigate the radio silence from the space-station named Enchanted. They find it torn to shreds by an unknown force, only a single survivor in a stranded shuttle. Belle French is the doctor in the medical bay of Storybrook and the one to receive the survivor. It is soon discovered that his name was doctor Gold Cassidy, stationed on the Enchanted… but that man… is no longer there. Something else has taken his place…





	1. Chapter 1

Dr. Belle French was walking through the halls to the medical bay where she was stationed on the ship Storybrooke, not that it was much need for it as it was only a small vessel sent out to examine why there the space station named the Enchanted.

She knew that radio silence happened from time to time… but it had been a year. Contact needed to be made.

They were briefed that it was not believed that anything had happened, but… the fact that senator Regina Mills, contact of the Empire of Man and its Emperor was on board… it had people quite worried.

It was in the medical bay that she heard it.

The Enchanted was gone… or not gone… ripped apart.

David Nolan, the captain of the ship was about to turn the ship around when they picked up a life sign. One single survivor in a stranded shuttle.

She was one of the first to see him as he was brought through into medical bay. A man in his fifties, unknown identity… but alive.

Running the tests she found her mouth agape.

He was alive yes… but he should not be… it was impossible for any human to survive that trauma. His ribs were shattered, his spine was snapped and his skull was cracked. His heart and lungs as well as all internal organs had sustained damage. His brain… it was giving of brainwaves… but they were not…

Belle French was uncertain what to say when captain David Nolan, senator Regina Mills and chief security officer Emma Swan entered the room.

“Um… I… have no explanation… he should not be alive. I have him on oxygen… but… something is keeping him alive… I have no other word for it…” she shook his head. At the sight of him however Emma Swan’s eyes went wide.

“Gold Cassidy!” she rushed over to his side.

“You know him, officer?” David asked as he walked over.

“He is Neal’s father… Henry’s…” she did not say anything more. Belle pushed her away.

“You cannot move him… his spine is broken!” she insisted.

“Will he live?” Regina’s voice cut through like a knife.

“I don’t know… he should not be alive even. Let us… let us take it in another room,” Belle said firmly as she pushed them to the room, next to where the patient was laying, a single observation window inside.

“So… no idea on when he will wake up?” captain David Nolan asked, putting his hands on his hips with a shrug.

“If he wakes up… his brain waves… they are not… what I would expect…” Belle held up the pad with the information about the patient, all of them gathering around to watch.

“Dr. French… did you not say that his spine was broken?” Regina’s voice again seemed to have an ability to cut through and create a deafening silence in its wake, as she was looking through the window.

“I did… it is!” Belle pointed at her chart.

“Well then… why is he getting up?” Regina then asked with a raised eyebrow. The rest there came running over and indeed it was true, the man on the table, Gold Cassidy sitting himself up in the bed, removing the oxygen mask and the rest of the medical equipment fastened to him.

“He… he should not be… he is fatally injured!” Belle could not believe what she was seeing.

The man then lifted his gaze, and his eyes…

The whites of his eyes was black, while the iris was blood red.

“That is… that is…” they heard Emma stutter.

“No… I do not believe that is doctor Gold Cassidy… not anymore,” Regina Mills lifted her head.

The creature… the thing… that looked like Gold Cassidy cocked its head at the four observing it before letting out a low eerie chuckle.

“Dr. French! What is happening, what is that thing?!” Emma Swan asked

“I DON’T KNOW! I have never seen anything like this!” Belle was standing there in complete shock.

“It is a body snatcher,” Regina’s voice was low, but certain.

“A body snatcher?! Then we kill it right?! I am not having a body snatcher on my ship!” captain David Nolan shouted.

“Quiet yourself, captain! Killing it might make it worse. Besides I have strict orders of bringing the survivors of the Enchanted back to the Empire and the Emperor. Like it or not, dr. Cassidy was aboard the Enchanted… which means… that thing is a survivor. A technical term at best, but it is true,” Regina ordered. David Nolan, shook his head.

“It is insane! This thing may be the thing that did that to the Enchanted for all we know! Who knows what it will do to our ship!” he retorted.

“It is doubtful it had anything to do with it…” Regina rolled her eyes.

“Doubtful?!” captain Nolan exclaimed.

“… and if it did… it is of more value. We will then learn what we are facing. Do you know of anything that can rip through a space station like that? Tear it to shreds? This is no accident, this was an attack captain! We NEED to know by what!” Regina stepped closer to him.

“Um… captain… senator Mills… he is… moving…” Belle’s voice was barely heard above two, but it got people’s attention. The thing in dr. Gold Cassidy’s body had stood up and was now walking around, its gate skipping as if it did not know how to move its legs in sync. Stilted and unnatural.

“What is he doing?” Emma asked, not understanding how the man whom she had known for so long… was there walking around… but the thing… was not him.

“Having a look around would be my guess,” Regina shrugged.

“This… this cannot be a simple body snatcher!” Belle insisted.

“It clearly is a body snatcher… perhaps an unknown one. Let us hope it is not a T6,” Regina said with a shrug.

“A T6?” David questioned.

“A type 6, the virulent type. The one that can infect and take over other life forms through air,” Regina explained. A low buzz came across the intercom as they saw the thing had made itself over to the speaker.

“You better hope I am not, dearies… or else… well… this room is not air tight is it? Also T5 is bad news… at least for the brown haired one…” its voice was high pitched, having a strange cadence all the while chuckling.

“So… now it is talking to us… brilliant…” David sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “It is too dangerous, we need to put it down, NOW!”

“Oooh… hostile aren’t we? Talk to the lady… the black haired one. She will give you the reason why that is not a good idea… or… I guess it is classified. Besides… I am the last thing you need to worry about. Something has noticed you… and well… being noticed… out here in the big black void… and you not knowing it yet…” it let out a long continuous cackle.

“Hm… screwed doesn’t seem like a big enough word for what you are,” the thing spun around on its heal as it continued to look around the room.

“Senator Mills… what is it speaking about?” David looked over to the senator, who remained standing, narrowing her eyes towards the being, but not speaking.

“SENATOR MILLS!” He insisted, but the woman at his side was silent, just staring at the creature before her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2: Belle goes into the medical bay with the body snatcher in order to tranquilize it.

“Just what is going on here!” David Nolan grabbed the senator by the arm, but she slapped it away.

“It is the Emperor’s orders! I have no choice. I would very much like to end the thing, but unless you wish to subject us all to His wrath… I suggest we do not kill it. Or would you want your crew sent to a mining planet?! …not to mention what is going to happen to us…” Regina rolled her eyes. A silence fell between the ones present. To cross the Emperor and his government was always certain to lead to a fate far worse than death.

“But… what it did do Dr. Cassidy… he did not…” Emma blinked her eyes.

“I know your relationship with Dr. Cassidy, Emma… but… I am sorry…” David said as he reached out his hand.

“He is Neal’s father… Henry’s grandfather… he was a good man and that thing… did THAT to him… that is not alright…” Emma’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“It is not… but now… there is not anything that we can do. But… it will not get away with what it has done!” David’s eyes never left hers. “Are you going to be alright?”

“No… but I have little choice do I?” she muttered letting out a long sigh.

“None of us do…” David took her into his arms, hugging her close before letting her go. As strange as it was… despite him being only a couple of years older, she had always seen him as a father figure of sorts. She had never really had anyone like that in her life before… with the exception of Dr. Gold Cassidy perhaps.

“So… what do we do…? Keep it in the medical bay… that does not seem… smart,” David asked as he looked at the being who kept walking around, moving the body, stretching the arms and moving the neck.

“No… we need the medical bay and… if people notice this thing onboard, it will cause a panic. We need to move it. Is there a holding cell on this ship captain?” Regina asked as she glanced over at him.

“Yes, of course. Just one question… how do you suggest we move him? Ask him nicely to walk to the cell?” David shrugged his shoulders.

“We tranquilize him,” Regina said short.

“And who will go into the room with this thing? He could be infectious… anyone wants their body snatched from them? That is what they do after all…” David asked.

“We cannot have anyone else knowing about this… if it gets out… it will be mass panic onboard this ship,” Regina said firmly.

“I’ll do it…” Belle said, standing by the window and looking at the being, it standing on the other side, its blackened eyes staring directly into hers.

“Dr. French! You cannot…” David muttered.

“I am the only one who make any sense. If he is… infectious… I am most likely already infected… and well… in the holding cell… someone needs to watch him. If no one else is going to be brought in on this… which… I am not certain is a good thing… but… I did not know… dr. Gold Cassidy. It is not like we can have the captain of the ship or a senator go missing, you have to command the crew. Which leaves me or commander Swan. I do believe it is more important for the ship to have its chief security officer than another doctor. I am only here because dr. Hopper is on leave. But… more than that… no one that knew dr. Cassidy should have to… see him like this more than they absolutely have to,”  Belle said, her eyes never leaving its for a moment. It grinned at here, cocking its head and teasing her.

“It makes sense…” Regina said, lowering her head.

“It is the only way. But… could I at least have something to… stun him should he… not be so receptive to being tranquilized?” worry was clear on Belle’s voice, now only taking glances at the thing in the window that was awaiting her next move.

“Here… take this,” Emma handed her a pulsar.

“It won’t kill him, but it will hurt like a son of a bitch and drop him. Don’t hesitate to use it!” her eyes were glowing with rage.

“I will remember that…” Belle said as she hesitantly took it, before getting the tranquilizer and moved towards the door.

“Um… wish me good luck…?” she asked as she looked over the shoulder towards them.

“Good luck… you are going to be fine,” David said, though he was attempting to sound certain, he had never been a good liar.

Belle gave a small smile before she opened the door and shut it after her, leaving her in the room with… something…

 

Belle stood now, her back against the door, looking with big eyes towards the creature walking around the room, looking at her.

“Oooh… brave one aren’t you?” it cackled towards her.

“Um… hi… my name is dr. Belle French…” she did not know what to say.

“I know. You have already told me. Right then I had other things to do… like not dying so I apologize for not answering. And you are here to tranquilize me… am I right?” it cocked its head.

“So… you heard about that…” Belle stuttered.

“Not the most sound proof of rooms this… and speaking about the plan in front of the prisoner… not exactly the most brightest of captors I have had…” he gave an exaggerated shrug with his shoulders.

“Well… then you know we won’t kill you…” Belle dared to step closer.

“No, you CAN’T kill me, big difference,” he pointed at her.

“Perhaps… best not to give them a bigger reason to kill you?” Belle asked. The creature let out a giggle.

“What reason have I given if I may ask? Why do I deserve death? May I know?” He asked her as he moved closer.

“Um… you are a threat with what you did to… dr. Gold Cassidy…” Belle muttered.

“Ah… the body. Well… he was not using it. You said it yourself did you not? _He should be dead, but something is keeping him alive…_ well… meet your something. I did what I needed to survive. Taking a dead body… well…” it shrugged as it walked closer. Belle had to force herself to stand still.

“You are…”

“… a parasite? Yes… that is true. I know your kind doesn’t put much value of the life of a parasite… but to the parasite… well…” it made an exaggerated gesture with its arms and hands. Belle blinked her eyes.

“I don’t know if you are telling the truth…” Belle shivered.

“Well… if he was still alive… why would I show myself? He would be able to get into your good graces giving me enough time to…” he stopped.

“To do what?”

“Not telling…” he grinned towards her.

“Um… well if you don’t want to be stunned… it is in your best interest to do as I say,” Belle showed him the pulsar.

“Once more with feeling,” the being chuckled at her attempt at an order.

“I don’t want to… but I will have to do what it takes,” Belle said as she walked closer, pulsar raised, showing her finger near the trigger.

It blinked towards her before it rolled up its sleeve, holding his arm out towards her.

“Very well then little Belle… I might as well show a bit of cooperation, a sign of good will…” he gave a grin. Belle blinked in surprise. She had not expected it to be that easy. Slowly she walked closer to him, holding out the tranquilizer.

“Go ahead, dearie,” he nodded. With that she pressed its trigger, pumping the sedative into its arm. It should have dropped him within seconds, but he stood there, still grinning.

“Why… why are you?” she was stunned.

“Well… this body came in with a broken spine, broken ribs among several other bones as well as damage to… how many of the organs? Suffice to say enough. I got it working, so you think that a simple tranquilizer is going to…”

Before it could finish its sentence the eyes rolled back in the sockets and it collapsed on the floor. Belle looked towards the window and the three watching and gave a nod.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3: Belle watches over the being in the holding cell and gives it food.

“Urgh… um… why does the head hurt?”

Belle heard as the thing in dr. Gold Cassidy’s body started to move. They had been able to move it quite quickly to one of the holding cells, locking it up. This was after all only an exploratory ship, the holding cells really not meant for containing anything more than one of the crew that had been having too much to drink… not an alien threat of this level.

“Um… I tranquilized you and you hit your head when you succumbed. You resisted the drug really long though,” Belle said as she stood up, hesitantly moving closer to it.

“And you have only been down for half an hour… that one keeps a man down for at least four without an antidote,” she said as she looked at him.

“No… you don’t understand, little one… I was not supposed to be affected at all. I cannot be I am not…” it stopped speaking, the mouth left agape in a stunned silence.

“I did not… I did!” it muttered as it laid the hand upon the chest.

“Did what?” Belle asked curiously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” it glared at her with a huff.

“Well… there is something you need? I know you are a prisoner, but…” Belle stood in front of the glass, looking at it. It blinked confused.

“I don’t know,” it said as it got up to its legs, walking around still walking rather jittering, cocking its head.

“You don’t know…?” Belle asked confused.

“I need time to figure it out…” it muttered and she could see it was thinking.

“Alright… that is fine… take all the time you need,” Belle said as she went over to the desk.

“Well… I would, the problem is that time is limited and I am not just talking for me of course,” it let out a cackle.

“What do you mean?” Belle was forced to stand up the new information growing worrisome for her.

“Well… in case you haven’t noticed little Belle… your kind is sort of one space station short. It sort of got… ooh, what is the word…? Ripped apart? You don’t think that was a one time thing do you?” it let out a cackle.

“You… you know what did it?” Belle sat herself down before the cage. It cocked its head as it too went to its knees in front of the glass, placing its hands on it, looking directly into her eyes.

“Of course  I do. I was there after all. And… I have run into the attackers before. Don’t worry, they are not after me… not that it matters… as I have said before… you have been noticed… and that dearie… is a fatal mistake!” its eyes kept looking at hers, searching almost.

“Then can you tell us… what the attackers are?” Belle asked, not breaking eye contact with it.

“As I said to you before, big difference between can and will. I could tell you, but I won’t,” it sat itself down, leaning against the glass.

“And why is that?” Belle asked.

“Because… it is keeping me alive. What do you imagine is going to happen to me if I were to give up that information?” it asked. Belle remained silent.

“Death… yes… eventually. Though first I will be vivisected… or several other less than pleasant experiences that I would rather not wish to go through given the choice. Though… it is in store for me when… well it does not matter, this ship will not return to your precious Empire… it will get you long before that. And if it could do that to the big space station imagine what it could do your little boat…” it let out another cackle.

Belle felt uneasy, feeling her heart pounding. Wishing that she could say he was lying, but there was no deception in those unnatural eyes. It was telling the truth.

 

It had been some time, Belle having not wished to speak more with the being that seemed mostly content cackling and speaking with itself, she attempted to listen in, but to her it was meaningless ramblings like that of a madman.

All the sudden it crouched in pain, grabbing at the stomach.

“Aaah… aaah… the stomach… it hurts… it hurts…” it groaned. Dr. Belle French ran over, but stopped before opening the door to the holding cell.

“Look… I think I can help but… you have to promise…”

“I WON’T HURT YOU JUST GET THIS STOMACH TO STOP IT BEING IN PAIN!” it clutched its stomach. Belle still felt uncertain, but she had a duty to help any living being… and it was technically life.

Rushing inside she then placed it on its stomach to have a feel, the being breathing clearly distressed and uneasy. She then straightened her back and glanced down at it, her eyebrow raised.

“You are hungry… no wonder really you have been here for hours and in the shuttle longer than that. You will be fine once you eat,” Belle got to her feet as she looked down at it. It looked up at her with an utterly confused look.

“What now?” it asked.

“Food… you have to eat,” Belle said.

“You have to be kidding me!” it exclaimed in utter disbelief, laying there as if it did not comprehend. Belle furrowed her brows.

“I’ll get you some… you just… stay put,” she then said as she went out of the cell and locked it, the being sitting there, still unable to believe what had been said.

 

It did not take her long before she came back, having a tray of food.

“Look, I don’t know what you… like… so I brought you a bit of everything,” Belle said as she entered the room with the holding cells again, finding the creature sitting there up against the wall, crossing its arms.

“I am not doing it!” it grumbled.

“So… you are going on a hunger strike?” Belle asked as she glanced at it.

“If it means I don’t have to eat… yes!” it huffed.

“So you are going to starve yourself to death?” Belle moved closer.

“What now?” it seemed surprised.

“That is what happens when the body does not get food…? Don’t you… don’t you know this?” she asked confused. It looked up at her, but then huffed.

“Fine… eating it is then… given the alternative…” it rolled its eyes.

“Good to know you are being cooperative,” Belle said before pulling out the tray to the cell, and pushed the food through.

“Oh… I will be on my best behavior, dearie” it grinned as it walked over and looked down.

“So… eating… alright… I can do this…” it muttered as it blinked its eyes.

“You… don’t know how it is done do you?” Belle asked.

“I am… a bit confused about the technicalities yes…” it finally admitted. Belle let out a small chuckle, unable to find it anything but funny.

“Just wait here… I got an idea,” she then said, walking back through the door again leaving the creature rather confused, looking down at the trey.

 

Belle entered the room holding another tray of food in her hands.

“Gotten anywhere?” she asked, though it had not moved since she left.

“Well… what do you think?!” it asked with a huff as it glanced at her. “I don’t think more of it is going to help dearie.” It rolled its eyes.

“No… it is not for you… it is for me. I am going to eat with you… so you can look at how I do it,” she explained as she sat down in front of the cell with the tray. It narrowed its eyes gently before it took its own trey sitting down beside her.

“Let us start with something easy… this is a cherry tomato,” she held it up, showing it.

“You just, put it in your mouth, chew it until it becomes mush, then you swallow… have it go down the throat to the stomach,” she said before she put it in her mouth, feeling a bit strange with how intently that it watched her.

Slowly it took the tomato from its tray and did the same, she seeing its eyes widen.

“Don’t spit it out… swallow…” Belle assured it, and it after some time managed to do that.

“I did it!” it said seemingly surprised and rather pleased for that accomplishment.

“Now for the rest of it,” Belle then said and the look drained from its face.

“All of it…?” it muttered in disbelief.

“As much as you can…” Belle had to repress the urge not to laugh, as she continued to eat, glancing up occasionally to see it pick from its plate and eat, but its eyes were constantly staring at her, seemingly never blinking even once.

Belle did not say anything, though a worried thought would not leave her alone. If this was truly a body snatcher… then why did it not know how to feed itself?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4: Belle learns a clue from the parasite, the crew discuss more about their situation and someone pays it a visit.

It had been an interesting couple of hours for dr. Belle French as she was getting used to her new charge. She could only be happy that he had not as of yet been actually trying to escape its cell. In fact most of the time it had spent simply walking around in a circle, its steps still skipping and the gestures were very exaggerated while it was still rambling to itself, which was just pieces of sentences with little to no context.

But what she did hear she did not like. It seemed like it was talking to itself about ways to survive what it knew was coming, but worryingly… it seemed to be drawing a blank.

After a while it just sat itself down and glanced up at the ceiling. Belle sat there by the desk, resting on her elbows.

“So… what are you really?” she then asked. It slowly moved its head towards her.

“Why do you ask dearie? I thought that you had made up your mind about that,” it giggled.

“You know that we have no clue…” she muttered before she stood up and walked closer.

“Well… I am a parasite… what more do you wish to know?” it walked closer and leaned its hands on the glass surface. She moved closer leaning her head to the side, finding it mimicking her movement.

“You don’t act like a body snatcher…?” she asked worriedly.

“With the exception of having actually snatched a body?” it giggled.

“Well… that is the only way you act like expected…” Belle crossed her arms.

“Then you haven’t come across many body snatchers. Not that I am eager to share information, as it is the thing keeping me alive… but… I will give you a little clue dearie. I shall say that I have been classified as a body snatching parasite… a T11,” it put its head against the glass. Belle’s eyes went wide.

“That is… that is wrong. The scale goes from 0 to 6 depending on the threat level,” she shook her head in disbelief. A loud cackle came from the creature, it then stopped, looking her dead in the eye.

“Oh… oh. You actually believe that? Oh dearie dear,” it chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Belle asked nervously.

“I am just saying… you are going to have to stop believing what they tell you, because… it will be the thing that ends your life. If you don’t… don’t say that I did not try to warn you,” it leaned even closer, the eyes wide and a grin upon its lips.

 

“So… how is it going with our new passenger?” Captain David Nolan glanced over at Dr. Belle French who sat in the chair by his desk. Senator Regina Mills and chief security officer Emma Swan was also present.

“I do not know what to tell you… he has not attempted an escape, walking around in a circle rambling mostly,” Belle drank down the coffee she had been given.

“Any useful information?” David leaned forward.

“Not as such… only thing is that it is thinking of a way to survive what it believes to be an attack from the same that destroyed the Enchanted… though it doesn’t seem to get anywhere,” she shrugged.

“So it believes that it will be another attack? On Empire space?” David asked concerned.

“Seems more like it knows it will be… I know it is just a gut feeling captain Nolan… but I don’t think it is bluffing,” Belle then said.

“How do we know it is telling the truth? We cannot trust it!” Emma insisted.

“Of course we can’t… but… what use does it have to lie? Besides it make sense, an alien attack at one of the Empire’s space station is a declaration of war. It is not like we can assume it won’t be another attack,” senator Regina insisted and it was hard to argue against.

“Has it given any other information?” David turned to Belle again.

“No… it says it won’t tell as information is the only thing keeping it alive… or so it believes,” Belle muttered.

“Well… it is of course not wrong about that,” David sighed.

“I do have another… gut feeling,” Belle said after a while.

“No use keeping anything back. You have after all been spending a lot of time with this being,” David nodded his head.

“I… I don’t think it has done this before,” Belle met his eyes.

“Done what? Taken a body?” David said in disbelief.

“No… it has done so. I mean… remember the list of injuries to dr. Cassidy’s body I told you about? All gone… even other medical issues he had which was known is gone. It would not be able to do that… if it had never been in a body before… no… I am talking about… I don’t believe it has been in… control before,” Belle attempted to explain something that she did not understand herself.

“In control?” David inquired.

“Well… it does not know it has to eat… it does not know how to eat… among other things… trust me I have had an interesting day. And it is more than that. You have seen how it moves… how it speaks? I mean, it is not natural. It does not know fully how to be in control,” Belle said.

“Does… does that mean that dr. Cassidy is in there? That he is struggling for control?!” Emma asked, walking closer, but Belle simply shook her head.

“No… I believe it is the opposite. Dr. Gold Cassidy is dead. I think that is why the body snatcher is having trouble. It is alone in the body, with nothing to tell it how to act human,” Belle explained.

“It also has said that it would be easier if dr. Cassidy was alive as he would be welcomed back giving it enough time to do… well… he did not say… Look… I know it can be a trick, but it makes sense,” Belle continued.

“It would actually be in its best interest to convince us that dr. Cassidy is alive… knowing that we might not wish to damage the body in fear of killing him,” David nodded his head.

“There… was however one thing that it told me…” Belle then said.

“What is it?”

“I asked it what it was. It told me it was a body snatching parasite… a T11,” she then admitted.

“A T11? Doesn’t the scale only go up to T6?” David was confused.

“It does… for the known body snatchers. If the Enchanted discovered something new… it was its mission after all… And as dr. Cassidy was an expert on these beings, I do believe that if he gave a body snatcher the title T11, it is worrying,” Regina said, her voice still calm and stoic.

“I think that is an understatement, madam senator!” Emma’s eyes were wide.

“I know your feelings, commander Swan. But killing it is a mistake,” Regina’s voice was as calm as ever, her dark eyes meeting Emma’s blue ones.

“Give me one good reason not to put it down!” Emma growled towards the other woman.

“Do you know what happened when we first made contact with a T6? It was found out and killed. Of course this put spores in the air shaft of the ship Valiant, a much larger research ship than this little exploring vessel. It took it a day to turn everyone on the ship. An T6 that goes undetected is a planetary level threat, commander Swan. If it is telling the truth, the thing in the holding cell is far more dangerous. This is not something we are equipped to deal with. Besides… it will be dealt with soon enough,” Regina did not even flinch at the blond commander stepped closer.

“It is true…” Belle backed up Regina’s story.

“But… I am still not convinced this is a body snatcher as we know it… it is sentient and it speaks, that is something we did not think that they were even capable of. The time spent in the bay with the holding cell gave me time to read up on body snatchers… most of it written by dr. Gold Cassidy himself,” Belle looked down at her tablet.

“I have heard about body snatchers that talk…” David muttered.

“They can mimic speech yes… but not talk… body snatchers act on instinct… this one is intelligent. Which is where I worry the threat is coming from. Imagine something like an T6… which might actually outsmart us,” Belle explained.

“I admit… doesn’t sound good…” David shrugged.

“How do we know it is intelligent? How do we know it is not simply mimicking dr. Gold Cassidy?” Emma asked.

“Does anything you have heard it say remind you anything of dr. Cassidy Emma?” Belle looked up at her, sympathy in her eyes.

“No…” Emma had to admit.

“I don’t think it even has dr. Cassidy’s memories… or else it would have known you. It would have attempted to use your feelings of friendship to escape capture… but it did not. Dr. Cassidy must have already been dead… or at least gone… when it entered his body,” Belle suggested. “Though… I admit it is a guess at best.”

“If it is but a guess… I hope it is correct,” David sighed. “But that does not change much I am afraid. What are we going to do with it?”

“We need to get it back. If we were to destroy the body it is inhabiting now… it does not mean we destroy it. Besides, we have our orders,” Regina said firmly and with this the conversation ended, none of them having much to say after that.

 

Belle was sitting by her desk, reading a book about body snatchers, one of several that dr. Cassidy had authored. She did not know him before this, but he seemed to be the greatest authority on the subject. Glancing over she saw his body sitting there… controlled by one of the beings that he had spent his life studying.

It was for the mostly silent now, staring out into the air, standing there in the middle of the cell. It had done so for quite some time.

The sound of the door opening caused her almost to fall of the chair, quickly scrambling to get the person out, but then saw senator Mills standing there.

“It is me. No one is allowed down this corridor except us, you need not worry,” she said giving a smile.

“That is good… um… why are you here?” Belle asked confused, catching her breath.

“I thought you could use a break. It is admirable that you have taken on the duty to watch it, but you do need a break at times. I have an hour or so before anyone will know I am missing. Take a shower, walk around… get some things you need… just sit and relax. It looks like you could need it,” she reached out and touched Belle’s shoulder.

“Thank you very much, senator Mills… that sounds really good right now,” she smiled.

“Regina, please. We are in this all together now, might as well be on first names with each other. Go on hurry, I can’t stay long,” Regina gave a smile.

“Thank you again, Regina,” she said before giving another smile to the senator and walked out the door. The moment the door closed the smile went from Regina’s face and she turned towards the creature who stood there looking directly at her.

“I was wondering when you would come speak to me,” it giggled towards her.

“You must have known,” Regina cracked her neck slightly, but her eyes was set directly on it.

“Oh yes. I must say… nice disguise…  
… your majesty…”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5: Regina and the parasite talk together.

“So… what is your plan?” Regina asked as she started to pace up and down in front of its cell, the blackened eyes simply following her.

“My plan?” it chuckled.

“To escape. And I am not thinking about this ship. You know what is coming,” she glanced over at him.

“Oh… I have no plan. This is it… end of the line,” it giggled.

“I will not accept that!” Regina slammed her hands against the glass, but the creature inside did not flinch.

“Why do you worry so much your majesty… your kind has always been able to… ooh… ooh… that is why you are so scared! You can’t anymore can you?” He let out a long chuckle.

“You did not rid yourself of this form soon enough! So… this is how you are now? What a disappointment!” he exclaimed, hardly able to keep standing as he kept laughing.

“Well… you are in the same situation are you not? Why you were affected by the tranquilizer. You are as trapped as I am,” Regina raised his eyebrow. It glanced at her.

“It was a simple miscalculation… nothing more,” it let out a low huff.

“It is not like your kind to give up,” Regina lifted her head.

“No… parasites do all they can to survive do you not agree your majesty? Then again… you never did become queen of your hive did you?” it cocked its head.

“Don’t you dare speak of my hive!” she growled towards it. It remained silent.

“I apologize… how many of you escaped?” it then asked.

“Only one and you are looking at it,” she sighed. The creature gave a slow nod.

“So… last of your kind. Trapped in the body of a human… if your mother could see you now,” it let out a low chuckle.

“What do you know of my… aah… so you are him,” Regina blinked her eyes.

“The very same. You and me go back further than you remember majesty,” it leaned against the glass.

“Doomed to die on this small ship…” she rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall.

“Perhaps it is best that the rest is dead… at least they will never know about this. How the mighty have fallen right?” she let out a scoff.

“Perhaps… quite the inglorious end is it not?” it huffed towards her. She was forced to let out a low laugh.

“Well… I certainly did not imagine it would end like this. Trapped in this form with the being that my mother compared to a god, who was the very scourge of our reality… reduced to a parasite in the body of a dead biologist… surrounded by primitive beings who just have barely have been able to leave their pathetic rock… something out there certainly is having a laugh,” she rested her head against the glass.

“Worst is that for how primitive they are they are quite dangerous when they have you strapped down to a table and have a lot of sharp implements at the ready,” it let out a low giggle.

“What will happen to you when this ship reaching its destination? Good luck with that, I don’t particularly envy you,” she raised her eyebrow.

“I appreciate your concern majesty, but you need not worry, we are going to be dead long before we get there,” it shrugged.

“How long do you think before they find us?” Regina asked.

“Three days… a week if we are lucky,” it gave a shrug.

“So… nothing to do, but to kiss our ass goodbye then…” she let out a sigh.

“Well… since we have them we might as well…” it grinned towards her. Regina let out a loud laugh, before shaking her head.

“If only we were back in our world… then we could at least get revenge, but that is impossible…” Regina rolled her eyes. It blinked its eyes.

“Is it really…?” it muttered.

“What do you mean? It is billions of light years away and this ship is not capable of such travel… and the world is gone remember. That is why we are here!” Regina reminded the creature.

“Oh… you have been among humans for so long, your majesty. Such a primitive thought… no… no… we are not going there. We are bringing it here…” it grinned, its eyes staring directly into hers.

“What you are implying… it has never been done…” but there was an excitement in her tone.

“No… because well… there is the tiny little chance that we are going to rip reality apart,” it cackled.

“I was never fond of this reality anyway,” she gave a small shrug.

“Yeah, me neither… so… are we a team?” it asked. She grinned.

“This was why my mother always dealt with you was it not? What a vicious malevolent creature you are,” Regina asked, leaning her head to the side.

“Well… I am a parasite,” it giggled.

“So… how are we going to do this…?” she then asked.

“We need to find a weak place in space… where the void has stretched matter to its breaking point… after that… we only need to punch through,” the creature said as it cocked its head.

“That simple?” Regina raised her eyebrow.

“Oh… this will be anything but simple dearie, but… better than dying would you not agree?” it enquired.

“Hm… well… where do we find such a place?” Regina asked, her voice low and calculated.

“That dearie… is your job. As you can see…” he tapped the glass. “Not much that I can do from here. Don’t worry… I am certain that you can… figure something out…”

It leaned closer to the glass.

“So I am to do all the work?” she raised her eyebrow.

“Hm… well… when the time comes… I will do my share… you can bet on that,” it leant its forehead against the glass.

“See too it that you do,” she said as she removed herself standing in the middle of the room, the two of them looking directly at each other… as if they challenged the other to be the first to look away. Such was it when Belle returned with a bag of  the things that she might need.

“I am back,” she said, her hair showing signs of  the shower that she had taken.

“Ah, Belle. Did you have a nice break?” Regina smiled towards her.

“Yes, thank you very much… has everything been alright here?” Belle asked, looking from the one to the other.

“Oh yes… well… a bit unnerving I must admit… guess that is natural. I have to be honest and say that I do not envy you,” she reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

“It is fine really, you don’t have to worry about me,” Belle assured her. Regina gave her another smile and nodded.

“I will come and relieve you when I am able. See you soon Belle,” she said before she released her grip and then walked out the door, the creature watching her every move. It then turned towards Belle, grinning towards her.

“So… back having to watch the parasite?” it giggled.

“Well… you are my charge now. It is sort of my job. So are you hungry again?” she asked towards him. Its eyes widened.

“How… how often do I have to do this eating thing?” it asked with a worried tone.

“Ideally three times a day,” Belle explained. It narrowed its eyes towards her.

“What torment…” it then huffed.

“Well… it is not like we have much choice… who knows… perhaps you will eventually come to like it,” she said as she made her way over to the desk.

“I cannot imagine finding anything of the sort enjoyable,” it simply shook its head before sitting himself down and staring blankly into the air.

“Very well… have it your way,” Belle then shrugged before going back to her book.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6: Belle tells the parasite about dreams. The Storybrooke gets new passengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the angst begins.

Belle lifted her head from the pages of one of Dr. Gold Cassidy’s books that she had fallen asleep on, blinking her eyes before rubbing her face, her eyes looking over at the clock.

01.46.

No wonder that she had fallen asleep with the day that she had had. She did not believe what had happened. Lifting her eyes she then sees the parasite standing close to the glass and watched her.

“What is it…?” she murmured still very much asleep.

“Are you alright?” it then asked, cocking its head.

“Yeah… I am fine. Why… why do you ask?” she wondered.

“You… haven’t moved for some time,” it explained. Belle let out a laugh.

“I fell asleep… don’t tell me that you don’t know about that either,” she said as she got up from the chair and started to stretch her legs.

“Asleep… no… cannot say that I do. I have seen that most creatures stop moving at times for hours. Seems a bit of a waste of time to me,” it shrugged. Belle rolled her eyes.

“It is like with the food, we don’t really have much of a choice. It is something that our body and brain needs… to recharge. If we don’t we cannot really function. So… you don’t feel sleepy at all?” she asked as she walked closer.

“I do not know what that would feel like,” it said cocking its head.

“Well… like you want to close your eyes and lay down. Just… a need for rest and to sort of drift away?” she was really struggling to find a way to describe sleep to one who have never experienced it before. By the look on its face it did not seem that she was doing a very good job of it. It looked absolutely horrified.

“It is actually very nice. And when you do it… sleep I mean… you dream, that is usually very nice, sometimes not… but most of the time it is nice,” she continued.

“Dreams?” it enquired, cocking its head.

“Sort of images? Like a movie in your head…?” Belle attempted to explain. “It is something that the mind does to… keep sane.”

“Like… like memories?” it was now clearly curious.

“They can be yes… only a bit more potent and you don’t have that much control,” Belle nodded her head, but then noticed how puzzled it looked.

“Have… have you experienced something like this before?” she then asked. It gave a short nod.

“Or… can you dream while not… asleep?” it enquired her, looking at her imploring her to answer it.

“In a way… have you… experienced it?” she asked. It gave her another nod.

“What do you dream about?” she moved even closer.

“I… I do not believe that it is… a dream. Lost memories… but not mine,” it attempted to explain its confusion.

“Dr. Gold’s Cassidy’s…?” Belle’s voice was a mere whisper. It gave another nod, hardly moving his head, but she being so close she noticed.

“How…?” she asked nervously.

“Seems something got stuck when he left this body and I took it… so I believe it is something that got stuck in the neural synapses. So… is there a way to rid oneself of such… dreams?” it asked, those blackened eyes looking deeply into her eyes, leaning against the glass. Belle blinked before she shook her head.

“Not… not that I know of,” Belle explained. It let out a long sigh.

“But… what should I do then?” it paced back and forth with a long sigh.

“I do not know… what are those memories?” Belle inquired. It blinked its eyes.

“I… I am not certain. Other humans for the most part, faces… they are bothering me. I find it hard to explain,” it said with a shrug.

“Perhaps… perhaps you are guilty?” Belle suggested.

“Why should I be guilty? I had no other choice, and I did not kill him. As I said… he would be far more useful to me alive,” it said in a defensive tone with a sneer.

“It does not matter… at times you just feel guilty. Could be why the memories are bothering you,” she suggested. It blinked, but it did not speak any more simply walking back of the cell, clearly thinking.

Belle continued to look at it. From the face she could see that it was… troubled. Could it even feel such emotions?

“Well… I am going to go sleep… if you need anything wake me alright?” she asked, walking over to the small bed which was put into the wall, making the bed before she used the other holding cell as a changing room. It made her uneasy having to sleep in full view of this creature, but she would not dare to sleep in the other cell. She could easily be locked in. So far it had not done anything to escape, but… it could simply be a game he was playing to let her guard down.

Having changed her clothes she crawled into the bed and glanced over at the being still standing motionless in the back of its cell.

“Um… good night…” she then said, feeling clearly uncomfortable, still looking at it. It did not respond to her, simply staring at her.

It was an uneasy sleep, Belle finding herself waking up at the smallest of sound, a ship such as the Storybrooke often made strange sounds, most of which was easily ignored, but  she could not this night. Not that there was technically ever night, but it was just what it was referred to for ease.

Every time she woke up she looked towards the cell, finding that it had moved. Still standing… still watching…

It was rather eerie, but she could not even be certain that he was looking at her. Eventually though she got easy enough to fall asleep completely.

 

Two days had now passed and the Storybrooke was docking at a station where they would fuel up, new people which also were to travel to Terra boarding.

Captain David Nolan and security officer Emma Swan was then walking down the corridor watching the new people and just doing general patrols.

“So… how is it going with…” Emma did not finish the sentence, but she did not need to. David knew well what she spoke off.

“Well… I suppose. Dr. French is saying that it is pretty uneasy, muttering and impatient. But… other than that there has been no instances,” He explained.

“It is still convinced that we will face an attack?” Emma asked, blinking her eyes.

“It does. Though… we have not seen anything on the ships monitors. I still have them on high alert though…” David held his voice low.

“You believe it?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know. But… the Enchanted was destroyed. That we know. Being on high alert cannot be wrong,” David sighed running his hand through his hair.

“MOM!”

Before they could continue a ten year old boy’s voice broke through and Emma could only turn around before he hugged himself to her.

“HENRY?!” Emma could hardly believe it. “Why… why are you here…?”

“I was transferred here… so of course he had to come,” a male voice was heard and Emma and David saw a man walking closer.

“Neal?!” Emma glanced up, still holding around her son, her mouth agape in shock. The shock was mirrored on David’s face. He was not aware of this transfer, but Neal Cassidy was a capable officer and transfers were not uncommon. By Neal’s side was a short haired woman, one he had worked with before named Mary Margaret, a botanist who also acted as Henry’s teacher while he was aboard.

“You don’t have to be so shocked,” Neal let out a chuckle.

“What is it…? It looks like you two have seen a ghost,” he furrowed his brows, realizing that this was not the normal surprise.

“Um…” Emma did not really know what to say. David glanced at her and then tapped Henry’s shoulder.

“Hey champ, what do you say you, me and Mary Margaret go down to the cantina and get some ice cream? Give your folks time to catch up,” he asked with a smile. The young boy instantly nodded, giving him the biggest smile. Mary Margaret had a worried look on her face understanding that something was going on, but then nodded her head.

“Sounds good,” she then agreed, knowing that she would be told later. Both Neal and Emma remained there, watching them leave before Neal turned towards Emma again.

“So… is there something that you need to tell me?” he asked, his usually jovial tone no longer in his voice.

“Neal… we… we went to the Enchanted… as you know there has been radio silence for a year…” she stuttered. Neal’s face instantly filled with dread.

“Yes…” he nervously held his hand over his mouth.

“It… it had been attacked… there was…” she couldn’t tell him the truth. She could not tell him about the fate of his father.

“There was no survivors,” she lied. She could see how the new struck him, though not having heard from his father for so long he had never thought that… he blinked his eyes.

“My father…?” he did not need to ask, but it just fell out.

“We don’t have much information… but… he was stationed there and… and we have not heard from him. He could have gotten off the station before… but…” she could not stand lying to him. Though they had broken up not long after Henry’s birth they were still very close, having genuine affection for each other. But she knew that the truth would destroy him. That his father had indeed not survived the station, but that… something wearing his body had.

“I… I never got to say good bye…” Neal looked stunned. Emma simply blinked, tears started to form before she hugged him close, him holding onto her, hiding his face in her hair.

Emma thought she felt her heart break in that moment, not being able to do anything but to hold onto him, while the lie made her feel like throwing up.

Hopefully he would never have to know the truth. If there was any mercy left in the universe… he would believe his father perished on the Enchanted and never have to know what he had become.

But the universe is not known for its mercy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7: The parasite attempts to warn the humans of a danger they are about to face.

Dr. Belle French was watching the creature as it walked faster and faster around the cell.

“Where are we?” it then asked.

“On our way to Terra,” she answered.

“NO! You don’t understand! Where are we now?!” it was clearly agitated. Belle furrowed her brows as she stood up from her desk walking closer with her tablet.

“Why do you need to know?” she leaned her head to the side.

“Because! None of you primitive creatures are seemingly able to feel it!” it insisted. “Or notice what is right in front of you!”

Belle pulled out her tablet and brought up the star map showing it to it.

“Does this help you at all?” she rolled her eyes. It bent its back and observed it closely, its eyes widened and then pointed at a part of it.

“Now tell me… what is that…?” it asked as it cocked its head. Belle turned the tablet to see where it had pointed, a concerned look on her face.

“It is nothing…” she muttered. It rolled its eyes.

“Yes! Yes of course it is ‘nothing’!” it exclaimed. “No stars, no constellations… nothing!”

It then proceeded to walk back and forth, before thumping its forehead against the glass. Belle continued to look at the tablet. It was right… there was nothing there. She had not noticed it. Lifting her hand she dialed up Captain Nolan on her earpiece.

“Captain Nolan… this is dr. Belle French. I have a… patient that needs to speak with you…” she was uncertain of what she should say, but she felt that she needed him to look at this.

“Dr. French… is everything alright?” she heard concern in David’s voice.

“Um… he might have information… is everything alright on the bridge?” she then asked.

“Yeah… smooth sailing,” he said and overhearing this the creature tossed up its hands as it let out a cackle.

“Well… it won’t be for much longer! Stupid, stupid creatures! We are all going to die, and they are going to have no idea… then be utterly surprised when it happens! How did I ever manage to get myself caught by you lot?!” it let out a desperate chuckle.

“Um… are you certain… captain? It… he… seems to believe quite strongly that something is going to happen,” Belle spoke into her ear piece.

“The sensors are not picking up anything,” David confirmed, but there was a slight unease in his voice as he had overheard the exchange.

“Of course they don’t! And I don’t believe… I know. In 3… 2… better grab a hold of something… 1!” in the moment it ended its countdown the entire ship shook sending both the young woman and the parasite itself to the floor.

“What… what happened?!” Belle asked as she sat herself up. She did not doubt that the parasite did not know what was going on. It knew exactly what was happening. It sat itself up rubbing its head.

“Well… there is no escaping now…” it looked around and let out a sigh. Belle called David again over her earpiece.

“Captain! What is going on?!” she asked scared.

“We have stopped! We cannot move! Did… did it know?” his voice was barely above a whisper to make certain no one else heard him.

“Yes… it knew… it was counting down,” she said back, her eyes wide as she looked over at the creature, leaned against the bed. It had now stopped speaking, simply looking at its hand and how it moved.

“I will be down in a minute!” David ended the communication. It simply glanced up at her.

“Want to know how long we have?” it asked her. She shook her head nervously.

“No… I would rather not know myself. It is shorter than you think. But… I believe it will be quick… that is something…” it let out another desperate cackle. Belle simply felt her stomach tighten, holding her arms around herself. It continued to look up at her.

“Scary is it not?”

“What is?” she asked nervously. It let out a long giggle.

“To know that you are going to die… trust me… I know the feeling,” it said as it continued looking at her. Belle could not help, but to feel guilty. She was feeling so scared… terrified with the notion that her life would end, yet this creature had endured it since it woke up on this ship. It had been forced to wait in a cell… for death. Not a quick or easy death, but an agonizing one.

“I am sorry…” she then said.

“For what?” it shrugged.

“For how you have been treated…” she sat down next to the glass. It gave a small shrug.

“Just a parasite after all…” it glanced over at her.

“That… that does not make it right…” she said tears in her eyes.

“Perhaps…” it moved closer to the glass, sitting down next to her.

“Are… are we really going to die…?” she then asked. It gave a short nod.

“Well… you humans have locked up the only creature that can possibly help you… so yes, we are going to die,” looking over she then saw a grin upon its lips.

“You… you can stop this?” she asked, a tone of disbelief in her voice.

“No… but I can get us out alive… but… I mean, why would you listen to a parasite… I mean… what can it know? Besides, you humans would never trust a parasite so… what does it matter?” it said with an overly dramatic voice.

“But…” she said stunned. It simply continued to grin. In that moment David Nolan burst through the door and pointed at the creature.

“You! What is going on?!”

“Oh… at least he wish to get to the point… good saves us some precious time,” it giggled as it stood up.

“You know what is happening?” David said as he walked closer.

“OF COURSE I do,” it put its hands on the glass as it observed the captain.

“The ship sensor says that the ship is not moving, but we can see by the stars outside that we are moving! Did you do something to the ships sensors?!” David accused. It let out a chuckle.

“You are not moving captain. The ships sensors are correct. What primitive minds I have to deal with… now how to explain it in a way you understand,” it rubbed the bridge of its nose. “Well… that stars are moving can mean two things remember… that you are moving… or they are. In this instance, we are standing still, but the rest of the universe… is not.”

“What?” David asked confused.

“Space and time is warping around you and your little boat. That thing… the thing your sensors did not pick up on… with the exception of the fact that stars was going missing on your little map… amazing that you even got of your rock if stars going suddenly missing is of no concern of you… regardless… that thing, is a void storm,” it clearly expected that term to have an effect on the two humans who just stared blankly at it.

“Void storm…?” David questioned, Belle shrugging, showing that she did not know what it was speaking off.

“Oh dearie dear. They haven’t even heard of a void storm…” it thumped its head against the glass.

“Fine… short explanation. Do you creatures know what a wormhole is?” it then asked. Both David and Belle gave a nod.

“Alright… something. Now… a void storm… extremely simplified… is a collision of two or more wormholes. I will not bore you with the details, but inside a void storm there is a center of gravity nearly equaling a black hole… which is why we are not able to move. Soon… we will get sucked in and well… I need not tell you… I hope… what happens when you fall into a black hole,” it gave a short shrug. The silence from the two told it that it needed not to explain that. Gravity ripping apart every single piece of matter into its basic component. The purest and most inescapable form of destruction in the known universe.

“So… how do you escape it?!” David insisted, moving up to the glass and looking directly into the eyes of the parasite who gave a low chuckle.

“Oh no… you don’t escape it… you drive into it.”


End file.
